Hump Day Post

My apologies for forgetting to post this yesterday.  I wanted to do a final lookover and completely zoned out on the actual post.  Today I'm going to give a little lesson on Driving Etiquette.  Lesson of the Day? Merging.

When merging onto the highway, there are a few things to remember:

1.  You are merging INTO traffic.  It is NOT their responsibility to speed up or slow down to accommodate you. Yes, there are some of us that are polite enough to move over when possible or attempt to accommodate you but it is not our responsibility.  It is a courtesy we do when possible...or when the wind hits us right.

2.  On the heels of number one, YOU need to speed up (or slow down) to go with the flow of traffic.  That is what the on-ramp is for...getting up to speed.  That is what your mirrors are for...to see what's going on around you that you cannot see by just looking.  If you see someone speeding up, don't jump in front of them at 35 mph

3.  Once you've merged, it is NOT the time to check your Facebook or change your radio station, causing you to slow down as you fiddle.  You are on the HIGHWAY....DRIVE!

With those three things in mind, let's give a lesson on what you should be doing to merge.  Using the on-ramp, get up to speed while simultaneously looking at the traffic you're going into using your mirrors and traditional looking.  (We'll cover bumper to bumper traffic in a minute).  Using good judgment, find a gap that would accommodate your car comfortably and pace your speed so as not to cut anyone off but to glide gently into the space that's there.  Stay up to speed with the flow of traffic and drive...undistracted.

Now let's take a moment to cover bumper to bumper traffic....In bumper to bumper traffic (aka rush hour), merging is a bit different.  While you don't have to get up to speed, you are required to exercise just as much vigilance.  Merging into rush hour traffic is much like shuffling a deck of cards:  highway driver, merging driver, highway driver, merging driver and so on.  Don't be the butthead that tries to push your way in behind another merging driver because you can't wait one car's length.  You are not getting anywhere any faster doing it and you're just ticking off the cars around you.

Driving is a lot like sex (particularly rush hour driving and merging).  Merging is best completed with ample foreplay (or in the case of driving, paying attention to what's going on) so as not to go in without preparation/lubrication.  Honking is much like premature ejaculation: it isn't fun, it doesn't make me go any faster and it's frustrating for both of us.  Exercise some manners when you're driving and there might not be so many frustrated people on the road.

Rant over.